The legalisation of marijuana is shaping as a key issue in the re-run Senate election in Western Australia because voting preference experts have identified Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP), a micro party with 6000 members, as having the best chance of success among the minor party alliance.

It is also causing headaches for the WA Greens Party as HEMP has abandoned preference deals with it and has preferenced Labor - a reversal of its position at the September election.

The party says the Greens backed out of a promise to host a drug summit in Canberra in return for HEMP's preferences.

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And it has accused the WA Greens senator Scott Ludlam of being a social conservative on the issue of legalising marijuana and other drugs.

HEMP's lead WA candidate Jim Moylan blasted the Greens as ''a joke on cannabis law reform''.

''The Greens take votes away from us because people just assume they are for cannabis law reform,'' he said.

Section 8 of the Greens' federal policy document on ''drugs, substance abuse and addiction'' states: ''The Australian Greens do not support the legalisation of currently illegal drugs.''

The legalisation debate has been given extra impetus after the US state of Colorado became the first jurisdiction to allow the growth, processing and sale of marijuana for recreational use. Washington will follow suit mid-year.

Senator Ludlam rejected the social conservative tag. ''If supporting a harm-minimisation approach to illegal drug use and advocating the legalisation of medical cannabis is conservative then so be it,'' he said.

''In an environment where the old parties refuse to engage with the issue and continue to ignore the advice of health and law enforcement professionals, the Greens have consistently spoken out when the opportunity presents itself. My colleague Senator Richard Di Natale has reconstituted the Parliamentary Group for Drug Law Reform and the Greens will continue to work with the community for law reform.''

In the most recent preference negotiations, the Greens brokered a deal in which WikiLeaks ''ratted'' on preference deals with HEMP and other left-wing parties, including the Sex Party.

Preference experts believe if the Greens can increase their primary vote of 9.5 per cent they will likely take the final seat, with three Liberals and two Labor.

Under another potential scenario, if Senator Ludlam's renewed popularity pushed the party to a full quota (14.29 per cent) HEMP could be elected at the expense of a third Liberal - a situation that would affect the balance of power, with the Abbott government having less right-leaning cross-benchers to negotiate with.

HEMP will launch its WA Senate campaign in Perth on Tuesday with a giant inflatable joint.

64 comments

Perhaps HEMP can unite with the petrol heads party and oppose the 'speed kills' rubbish our police are always spouting so that the state governments don't have to get involved in advanced driver training ?

Commenter

adam

Location

yarrawonga

Date and time

March 24, 2014, 7:08AM

Yep another dumb idea. Legalising hemp. It is a mind altering drug. Get it? You do not need that crap in your system when driving. If you must use drugs and if you do you really are pretty pathetic, then give up your driving rights. I think then I would have little concern , you can smoke your self to death without risking anyone elses life. Sound fair? legalise grass as long as you hand in your drivers licence.

Commenter

Hill

Date and time

March 24, 2014, 9:45AM

Well the real issue is, are we as a nation mature enough to handle this? We are clearly where the UK and New York were 20 years ago with our crime rate and adding legalising grass is really going to make that better? Hang on people, we are going on a 10 year ride of crime, kids bashing police, kids baching 90 year old women as happened today, weak penalties and even weaker law makers and you think making grass more accesable is a good thing??. Dumb!

Commenter

pop

Date and time

March 24, 2014, 9:48AM

Hill - are you from the past? Glad to hear that you think people who use drugs are pathetic - possibly as you sit down to a glass of wine or beer after a long hard day of denial.

Commenter

Weary

Location

Sydney

Date and time

March 24, 2014, 10:03AM

I would find it difficult to vote on such in my party, because I realise to apply the majority wishes and oddly it is getting a large majority support, however, I have hardly ever seen a constant user move forward in life, and most end up in the same life pattern and have seen over time it has mental and social effects, as well as impaired driving ability. is it addition or a social escape. I hope I never have to vote on this issue.

Commenter

Brian Woods

Date and time

March 24, 2014, 10:51AM

Yes well done @ Hill & pop. It sounds like you have been paying too much attention to tabloid TV, radio, newspapers and then went and watched "Reefer Madness".Alcohol is the cause of most social problems. I don't hear anyone saying make alcohol illegal. The police already do random drug testing as well. Just like alcohol, "if you smoke & drive you are a bloody idiot."The current trend phrase for people against cannabis decriminalisation is "it makes people insane. Our hospitals are full of cannabis induced insane people." Yet I never see any independent medical studies to back this up. Classic tabloid media has taken people in. Proper testing of the effects of cannabis use cannot be done as it is an illegal substance.I know many people in their fifties and beyond that have used cannabis since their teens and have never had a psychotic episode. There has been the rare person over the years that have had a bad reaction after using cannabis but it usually turns out they had an unknown psychological problem to begin with.What is insane is the continued criminalisation of cannabis as this only makes the organised crime participants richer, just as prohibition of alcohol did in the USA. If I remember correctly that is how the Kennedy family made their riches.If cannabis was properly controlled as is the case with alcohol, proper research of its effects could be carried out, organised crime would lose a lot of money and governments would have a new source of revenue.As for the "kids bashing 90 year old's" you can almost be guaranteed they are using "Ice" amphetamines or heroin. "Ice" is a big problem now. Sorry if this seems like a rant but it is a very complex issue.

Commenter

Who's paranoid?

Date and time

March 24, 2014, 11:12AM

Well is about some it up in regards to peoples thinking if this is one of the major issues in Australia.To hell with everything else important just roll another joint.

Commenter

terry01

Location

toowoomba

Date and time

March 24, 2014, 12:42PM

With many of the morons who smoke dope and want to smoke dope I'm not sure that giving them easy access to the stuff is going to make any discernible difference.

Commenter

the_Truth

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

March 24, 2014, 4:23PM

During my brother's recent stay in a public hospital psych ward the nurse asked me if he was a frequent cannabis user. He said many of their patients are there due to cannabis use.

Commenter

Anthony

Date and time

March 24, 2014, 7:34AM

I agree, prolonged high-level use has its detrimental effects, just like any other dug. It doesn't mean it wouldn't be possible to regulate a state-wide small dose for personal recreational use policy. We have legal alcohol, some people still abuse the privilege, but I don't hear anybody banging on about prohibition.